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about your
cousin's near relation."
    Sarah smiled
warmly at the princess: "That is just like Mrs Morley always
thinking of others." Whilst Sarah was talking the princess pulled a
length of material which Abigail noticed was attached to a rope
running across the ceiling which the princess confirmed, telling
Sarah:
    "I've rung for
Mrs Danvers," then turning to Abigail, confided:
    "His highness
the prince has kindly consented to your seeing your brother before
you leave." Soon another voice was heard at the door:
    "You wan g, ma'am!" It was Mrs Danvers.
    Sarah stood up
a little prematurely, and Abigail perforce had to follow her
cousin, listening to Anne's instructions:
    "Ah, Danvers!
Pray take her ladyship and Mistress Hill to ye prince's rooms."
Then, turning again to Abigail, said kindly: "Well, Mistress Hill,
it was good of you to come all this way to see us. Mayhap we'll
soon see more of you."
    To Sarah: "I
needs must have some discourse with my dear Mrs Freeman before you
leave ye Palace."
    Waiting patiently until the princess
finished and the two women joined her outside, closing the door of
the pr incess's room, Mrs
Danvers spoke:
    "Pwa y, ladies. Step this way!"
    Abigail was quick to follow Mrs Danvers
though her cousin made no effort to comply compelling the servant
to wait for her ladyship. Mrs Danvers fidgeted waiting for Sarah,
and nervously repe ated
her invitation, by saying:
    "Pway, ladies.
It is not far along the corridor." She turned to the left and then
to the right, and after walking for a few minutes emerged into a
large well-lit open area. They were on the south side of the palace
and the architects had capitalised on its situation by the erection
of a dome. Light onto the floor below was via rectangular windows,
called lunettes, around its circumference, and though gloomy by
21st century standards was, in contrast to Princess Anne's
quarters, a centre of illumination.
    Sarah, in
particular, appreciated its luminosity as her finery was shown to
its best advantage and even more so as Mrs Danvers had accosted a
young page enquiring something of him. Both ladies had the time and
leisure to examine him, rather his uniform, of blue velvet coat
generously cut with silver buttons running from collar to hem which
finished at the knee.
    Abigail looked at his pockets which were
more like horizontal slashes with similar buttons beneath and
solitary one just above at the end; there were also motifs of a
tree-like shape stitched just above the slash discovering later it
was the motif of Mary, King William's queen and Anne's sister.
However further examination of the page had to be postponed as he
was on his way leading Mrs Danvers and her charges away from the
annexe to wards Prince
George's quarters.
    Arriving at
the door to the prince's quarters, Abigail was slightly surprised
that there was no palaver of scratching as occurred earlier, but
the page in military style brought the party to a halt by himself
smartly halting, clicking his heels and opening a door to the left.
He addressed Mrs Danvers by name, including Abigail with his
'ladies' but singling out Sarah with his invitation to follow where
his hand pointed, with:
    "Please, your
ladyship. I am honoured to direct you to his royal highness's
quarters."
    To Abigail's
surprise, Sarah seemed to know him, replying:
    "As smart as
ever, mister Masham, I daresay you be practising for a call to the
colours."
    She had
stopped and Abigail could once again look closely at the page and
especially the wide sleeves turned generously back decorated with
more silver buttons. But it was his smile which attracted her
though it impressed Sarah less as she added, what she thought was,
a barb to her flattery, smiling, as she said:
    "The smartest
page in the palace in the business of opening doors, are you not?"
Yet Masham's smile did not depart; he simply said: At your service,
your ladyship."
    Complying with
the invitation both ladies found themselves in rooms markedly
different to